Opinion: Sacramento steps up for Reno-Tahoe Olympic bid
By Ailene Voison, Sacramento Bee
Last Tuesday, of course, was a very eventful evening in Sacramento. Here They Stayed. Yes, they did.
The City Council approved the tentative financing plan for a sports and entertainment complex – a new home for the Kings – by a 7-2 vote. Mayor Kevin Johnson scored the biggest victory of his political career. The post-vote news conference transitioned into a pep rally, complete with singing and chanting and inspirational speeches.
But David Stern wasn’t the only one closely monitoring the proceedings from a distance. There is a potentially huge and ongoing sidebar to this story. Or let me put it like this: Does anyone around here care about curling? Figure skating? Hockey? The Olympics?
Within hours of the arena proposal’s passage, Sacramento publicly emerged as a significant player in the Reno-Tahoe bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Speaking at a journalists convention Wednesday in Lake Tahoe, Nevada Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki, chairman of the Reno-Tahoe Winter Games Coalition, identified Sacramento as an important partner in the Olympic bid and a possible site for figure skating, hockey or other events.
“That (council vote) was a terribly important development for us,” Krolicki said from his cellphone Friday. “As we do an assessment of all the assets and venues available, having that sports and entertainment complex would be a very useful tool. We need at least eight sheets of ice, and right now, we don’t have that. Your airport is a very critical piece, as well.”